House Call: Muscle

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Q: Can muscle really “turn into” fat? A: No. What actually happens is that your muscle fibers can grow smaller while your fat cells grow larger. Using your muscles makes the fibers grow; if you stop working out, they shrink. Similarly, your body’s fat cells can change in size depending on how much fat each one stores. —Carl Foster, Ph.D., professor of exercise and sports science at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, past president of the American College of Sports Medicine

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